Prelude: Working as a Team
by angelkittysmith
Summary: During Thanksgiving 2015, I help the Sobert-Mifflin family from Erie cook a nice Thanksgiving dinner for my family in Pittsburgh. Things are going well until right after Thanksgiving dinner when Abigail, Hannah, and Samantha Mifflin have problems. I then turn to my childhood friends, Sarah, James, and Henri for help and advice. Note: I do not own Liberty's Kids, just the OC's.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Thanksgiving Day

It was a warm and sunny Thanksgiving Day in 2015. The Sobert-Mifflin family from Erie, Pennsylvania and I were getting ready to prepare a delicious Thanksgiving dinner for everybody. I was in charge of the turkey gravy and cranberry sauce. While Madison was cooking the candied yams, Sarah was roasting the ham, Hannah's boyfriend, Josh was roasting the butternut squash, and Samantha's boyfriend, Andrew was making the creamed spinach, I made the cranberry sauce on the stovetop and added clementine slices to it. Before we all knew it, there was an accident with the creamed spinach. "Andrew, you are never allowed to cook with a stove again," Sarah scolded Andrew. Just like Samantha, Andrew was only in kindergarten, which is much too young to cook things. Meanwhile, Hannah was baking Pillsbury Crescent Rolls in the oven, and Samantha was borrowing Hannah's Easy Bake Oven that she received for her 10th birthday. I checked on them to see how they were doing. "Are you girls doing all right baking?" I asked. "Yes, Angel," Hannah then replied. "We're fine." Then, after the younger Mifflin girls were done baking, Abigail, the oldest Mifflin daughter, made the stuffing, and Jacob, her boyfriend, made the green bean casserole. Sarah's boyfriend, Matthew, roasted some brussels sprouts, while 2 of the other Sobert sisters, Casey and Emma, cooked turkey and mashed potatoes. I, of course, made some turkey gravy to go along with those foods. I smiled as I helped everyone cook dinner. We all knew my whole family was going to enjoy our home-cooked meal!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Giving Thanks

Abigail, Hannah, and Samantha were setting the table for dinner. I was carrying the turkey gravy and cranberry sauce to put on the table. Right before it was time to eat, I took a picture of Abigail with her stuffing, Hannah with her crescent rolls, and Samantha with her corn bread. Madison brought out the candied yams, Casey brought out the mashed potatoes, Emma brought out the turkey, and Sarah brought out the ham. There were also vegetables that the boys made: roasted brussels sprouts, butternut squash, green bean casserole, and creamed spinach. We all sat down at the dinner table, and said words of grace. "I am thankful that I have Madison, Casey, Emma, and Sarah to help me with my schoolwork in college," I stated. The girls were pleased to hear that. "I am also thankful that I have 3 younger girls to look after who brought my childhood back to life," I then told everyone. We then went around in a circle and everyone stated what they were thankful for. After everyone said their prayers, we then went up and served ourselves. For my first plate, I took a couple pieces of Emma's roast turkey (white meat, of course) and a heaping of Casey's mashed potatoes, and poured my turkey gravy over both of them. I added my cranberry sauce, as well as Matthew's brussels sprouts and took one of Hannah's crescent rolls. First, I ate the crescent roll on my plate. "Mmm, you did a really good job baking these, Hannah," I then told her. "They bring back good memories of my childhood!" "Thanks, Angel," Hannah then told me. I then ate the turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and brussels sprouts on my plate. What was rather interesting about the 4 Sobert sisters I sat at the table with was that Madison ate ham and sweet potatoes, Casey ate turkey and mashed potatoes (just like me), Emma ate turkey and sweet potatoes, and Sarah ate ham and sweet potatoes- all on their first plate! When I got a second plate, I took a piece of Sarah's ham and a heaping of Madison's candied sweet potatoes. I added more of my fresh cranberry sauce, but I also tried Jacob's green bean casserole as well as a piece of Samantha's corn bread. "We really like your cranberry sauce, Angel," Samantha then told me. "Yeah, you did a great job cooking it," Hannah then agreed. "Did you try my cranberry sauce yet, Abby?" I then asked Abigail. "Not yet, Angel," Abigail then replied. "I am more interested in my stuffing and Jacob's green bean casserole- 2 of my favorite Thanksgiving foods!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Girl Problems

We were all eating dessert in the sunroom at my house. Pretty soon, I heard loud sobs coming from the hallway. I looked to see who it was. It was Hannah. "Angel, help!" Hannah cried with tears in her eyes. "What's wrong, Hannah?" I then asked her. "Samantha broke my Easy-Bake Oven," she then sobbed. "I can't trust her to use it anymore." "Okay, then," I agreed. "Samantha, come down here right now!" I then exclaimed in a firm tone of voice. "Did you just destroy Hannah's Easy Bake Oven?" "Yes," Samantha yelled out. She then began crying loudly herself and threw some of the leftover turkey that Emma made in the deep fryer and the leftover homemade cranberry sauce that I made into opened cans. "SAMANTHA!" I then yelled in a loud tone of voice. She was still crying really loud, and then I spanked her. "Samantha, you know better than to do that stuff," I scolded. "I WANT MORE CORN BREAD, AND CREAMED SPINACH, AND FRIED TURKEY, AND CANNED CRANBERRY SAUCE!" she then screamed. I then grabbed her by the arm. "Okay, Samantha," I said sternly. "Go straight back up to your room, and as a punishment, you are not allowed to attend our Christmas party on December 19!" I then pointed upstairs. I then went back to the sunroom. Hannah was still crying, and Abigail was quite gloomy herself. "Abigail, what's wrong?" I then asked. "Jacob and I just broke up," she told me sadly. "He was more interested in the turkey and ham than our own food." "I am so sorry," I comforted her. My stepmom taught Hannah how to make Chocolate Cherry Cake, which was almost the same thing as Black Forest Cake, which was one of the things we had to eat at Samantha Mifflin's Pretend Hotel Sleepover on her 6th birthday earlier in November. I tried some of it myself, after I tried the pumpkin cheesecake, something that Samantha would have loved. Just when you thought things were going well at Thanksgiving, little girls screw up at the very last minute of the holiday!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Crying Myself to Sleep

I then got into my pajamas and sobbed that night. "Emma, help!" I then cried in tears. "Shh, Angel," Emma comforted. "Everything is okay." "No, it's not," I then sobbed. "Samantha ruined your turkey and my cranberry sauce." I then hugged Emma and she patted me. "I feel terrible, too," Emma stated. "I worked very hard to roast that turkey for all of us to eat." "Did you work on it as much as I worked on my cranberry sauce?" I then asked, teary-eyed. "Yes, Angel," Emma told me, lowering her voice. "I specifically said that we should not deep-fry the turkey this year, or eat cranberry sauce out of cans," I still continued to cry, "but Samantha will just NOT listen to me." I then broke down. "Shh, calm down, Angel," Emma comforted me again. "I'll tell you what. Sarah, Matt, and the girls have to go back home to Erie and recover from their troubles tomorrow, but at least you, me, Madison, and Casey will get to spend the day together. Doesn't that sound fun?" I then swallowed my tears. "I guess so," I then gave in. "Okay, now go to sleep," Emma told me. "I will see you in the morning! Good night!" "Good night to you too, Emma." I then turned out the light and got under my covers.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Some Special Friends

The next morning, it was just me, Madison, Casey, and Emma at my dad's house, since my family went out to a Pitt football game and Sarah, Matthew, and the rest of the girls went back to Erie to get things settled. "Boy, I sure do feel bad about what happened last night," I then admitted. "But, I have an idea." "What's that, Angel?" Madison then asked. "Well, I have 3 special friends I have gotten to know ever since I was a kid," I told everyone, "by the names of Sarah Phillips, James Hiller, and Henri LeFevre." "Okay then," Casey agreed. "Maybe, they can help with the situation," I then explained. "That would be a great idea," Emma agreed. "Why don't you call them up and ask them?" I then called Sarah on my cell phone and asked her and the boys to come over and help us with our crisis. Pretty soon, Sarah, James, and Henri then came over to our house. "So, I heard you had some major problems at Thanksgiving?" Sarah then asked me. "Is that true?" "Yes," I then told everyone. "That's true." "Exactly what happened?" James then inquired. "You know about these 3 adorable Mifflin girls, by the names of Abigail, Hannah, and Samantha?" I then asked everybody. "All right," Sarah agreed. "What about them?" "Abigail and Jacob broke up because Jacob wouldn't eat the food he cooked, and Samantha destroyed Hannah's Easy Bake Oven, which made Hannah extremely sad, and worst of all, Samantha threw Emma's turkey in the deep fryer and then my cranberry sauce into opened cans, and tried to ruin them both, and to top it all off, she had a temper tantrum, and as a result, she can't come to our Christmas party on December 19!" "Oh no, that's sad," Henri stated. "Why don't we all sit down, and we will talk about it?" Sarah then asked me.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Past Thanksgiving Traditions

"So, tell me more about the problems the Mifflin girls had," Sarah requested. "We each had to cook a different Thanksgiving dish," I then explained to my friends. "What did you cook, Angel?" Henri then asked me. "I was in charge of the turkey gravy and cranberry sauce," I then explained. "No, we mean, what did the girls cook?" James asked. "That's what we want to know." "Well, Abigail cooked the stuffing, Hannah cooked the crescent rolls with butter, and Samantha used Hannah's Easy Bake Oven to cook the corn bread." "Then, what happened?" Sarah then asked. "Hannah's Easy Bake Oven got broken." "Oh, no! That's terrible!" "James, do you remember one Thanksgiving when this happened to you three?" I then asked. "Yes, when I was 13, Sarah was turning 12, and Henri was 7," James then told me. "I was cooking stuffing because it was my favorite food, just like Abigail. I also liked the green bean casserole I made." "Were the crescent rolls that Hannah made Pillsbury?" Sarah asked. "Yes, they were," I then replied. "Well, I wanted to make Pillsbury crescent rolls, but Henri wanted to bake corn bread," she then explained. "I didn't have an Easy Bake Oven back then, so we had to compromise. I baked the crescent rolls that year, and Henri could bake corn bread next year." "Let me guess, and say the most memorable Thanksgiving for you guys happened in... 2001?" I then inquired. "Correct," Henri then replied. "Because that's what this November is the most like," I then told everybody. "Why is that, Angel?" James asked. "Because it has been incredibly warm for much of the month, just like it was back in 2001, and as a matter of fact, we bested a Thanksgiving 2015 high of 64 degrees, as Thanksgiving 2001's high was 56 degrees," I then explained. "How do you remember all this stuff, Angel?" Sarah then asked me. "I just look it up online, Sarah," I then explained. "We met in 2002, though, right?" "Yes, that's right, and Henri never DID get a chance to bake his corn bread." "We ended up not speaking to each other for the rest of the day," Henri told me. "The biggest problem I had was when my cat scratched me on the leg Thanksgiving morning back in 2001," I told everybody, "because I was being mean to her." "You're nice to your kitties now, though, right?" Sarah asked. "Yes," I replied. "Well, thanks for the good advice, everybody!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Black Friday Afternoon

After my childhood friends, Sarah Sobert, and the Mifflin girls left, Madison, Casey, Emma, and I decided to hang out and take a look back at our childhood. "I told Sarah, James, and Henri that this November is a lot like 2001," I explained to everybody. "December is looking to sing the same tune!" "Sing the same tune?" Emma asked. "Exactly what do you mean by that, Angel?" "I mean, this unusually warm weather looks like it wants to continue into at least the start of December," I explained. "Hey, if we're lucky, we might get some wintry weather around Christmas, even if the month is still mild overall!" "I doubt it, Angel," Emma disagreed. "You don't know that for sure, Emma," I stated. "Anything can happen." "But, this is a strong El Nino," Madison explained. "Strong El Ninos don't usually produce white Christmases." "Yeah, unusually warm November+unusually warm Thanksgiving Day= unusually warm December," Casey agreed. "Every year I went to Northwestern Elementary School, at least since 2nd grade, whatever November was, December was, too!" "Oh, yeah," Madison agreed. "November and December were warm in 1998, warm in 1999, cold in 2000, and warm in 2001. I was in 4th grade, 5th grade, 6th grade, and 7th grade." "And, that's exactly how the "good" Novembers and Decembers of the 2010s played out," I explained. "With the exceptions of December 2010, which was cold, and December 2012, which was warm!" "So, you don't think 2013 and 2014 were good?" Emma asked. "No way," I replied. "Those were more like Casey's kindergarten and first grade years, in which December was NOT the same as November!" "Okay, enough talk about the weather," Madison stated. "What would you like to do to celebrate our childhood?" "We could, uh... go to the circus," I stated. "I don't think they have it anymore," Madison stated, "and I have to head back to Erie now."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Circus Is Coming to Town?

After Madison left, Casey, Emma, and I took a drive to downtown Pittsburgh, where the circus was typically held: in the Mellon Arena. Even better than a circus, we saw a holiday parade in downtown Pittsburgh. "Did the circus come to Erie in November?" I asked. "Oh yeah," Emma explained. "You guys remember Elephant Appreciation Day back in September, right?" I asked. "Another abnormally warm month for the Pittsburgh area?" "Uh-huh," Casey stated. "Of my 4 similar weather analog falls," I explained, "fall 2015 looks to be a combination of 2005 and 2001." "Yeah, they were pretty warm falls, too," Emma agreed. "Do you think that gives hints on what the coming winter will be like?" I asked. "Because both 2005-2006 and 2001-2002 were both very mild winters, and January was the warmest month relative to average in both 2006 and 2002." "All I know is that December looks to start out warm," Casey agreed. Before the parade, we each purchased some dinner: 3 hot dogs, a supersize bag of popcorn for all of us to share, and 3 individual soft drinks. "Which do you girls prefer: a Christmas parade or a circus?" I asked. "Holiday parade," Casey replied. "Same here," Emma replied. "I prefer the circus, because I haven't been to the Barnum Bros. & Bailey Circus in at least 10 years," I explained. "Hey, do you want to go see the new Peanuts Movie in theaters tomorrow evening?" "Emma can take you, because I have to go back to Erie tomorrow afternoon," Casey explained.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: A New Family

Saturday morning, Casey left Pittsburgh and I ended up hanging out with Emma. We went to see _The Peanuts Movie_ in theaters and ran into Emma's long-lost cousin, Meah Frimzy, who was a senior at Shady Side Academy, where my sister went to high school. Meah also had a boyfriend named Enrique Bailon, who was Mexican-American and had 3 younger sisters by the names of Carmen, Maria, and Juanita. Carmen was in 8th grade, Maria was in 4th grade, and Juanita was in kindergarten. They always loved to go see movies. "Emma, seeing those little girls makes me miss the Mifflin girls already," I told her. "I know, Angel," Emma told me. "But, there is nothing we can do about it now. We just need to sit down and enjoy the movie." Emma and I bought a bag of popcorn to share, along with 2 individual sodas. After the movie, we talked some more. "Do you know what I think _The Peanuts Movie_ is like now?" I then asked everybody. "No, Angel, what?" Meah asked. " _Monsters Inc.,_ of course," I stated. "Why is that?" Meah asked. "Because that movie came out in 2001, which this November has been like, and December is looking to be the same way!" Everybody was confused. "I am talking about the weather, and how warm it has been the last few weeks," I told everybody. "Okay, Angel," Emma stated. "I think we get the picture now."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The Girls Are Happy Again

The first weekend in December, I saw the Sobert-Mifflin girls again, just before finals. We went to Valenza's Restaurant for dinner, and also, Hannah was baking chocolate mint brownies with her Easy Bake Oven. "Hannah, you have your Easy Bake Oven fixed again," I stated, impressively. "Uh-huh," Hannah happily stated. "I got it fixed on Thursday. I can't wait to bake all sorts of fun things for Christmas." "Speaking of food, what all are we going to cook for Christmas?" I asked. "Well, we are going to have all 9 of us over, and we will cook 4 different meals on 4 different days," Sarah explained to me. "I will be making chocolate-covered strawberries for dessert on Christmas Day." "What about our neapolitan ice cream lovers?" I then asked. "I'm glad you asked, Angel," Abigail explained. "I will be baking chocolate cake on December 23, Samantha will be baking strawberry cheesecake on December 22, and Hannah will be baking coconut macaroons on Christmas Eve." "Wait a minute, I can't trust Samantha to cook anymore, so I will bake the strawberry cheesecake," I then stated. "What will we be having for dinner on the 4 days?" "Well, Beth and Nicole are making prime rib and baked potatoes on Tuesday," Emma informed me. "Emily and Shannon will be cooking duck breast and salad greens on Wednesday," Sarah told me. "Ashley and I will cook lamb chops and roasted redskin potatoes on Thursday," Madison stated. "And, Emma and I will make beef tenderloin and steamed green beans," Casey informed me. "Ooh, those all sound like good things to eat!" I then exclaimed. "Anyway, I am glad we are all friends again!"


End file.
